Last Updated on June 11, 2023
Visitors to hospitals are often doing so under stress because they are visiting a sick friend or relative or because they themselves are sick. This makes hospital wayfinding an ever-important subject in these locations.
The need to guide visitors (and staff) in a manner that is as stress-free as possible if needed. In this post we look at hospital signage and wayfinding in more detail, using the University Hospital of Wales as a case study.
Table of Contents
University Hospital of Wales and Navigation
Let me start off apologizing to the University Hospital of Wales for using them in this case study and if I ever need to use the hospital I hope you will still invite me in!
The hospital though makes for a great case study on hospital wayfinding because this hospital has suffered a lot from patients (or at least the ones I know) having a lot of problems finding their way around the hospital.
For this post, there is so much to talk about just from the outdoor areas alone, that I will focus on those and the issues which we will look at below, are perhaps indicative of the problems people have in navigating the inside of buildings.
Sometimes the very best ways to teach about wayfinding, navigation and signage is to use real-life examples and to sometimes learn from mistakes (and also of course from that which works well).
Hospital Signage Examples
From the first image above you can immediately begin to see the problems.
Two signs both pointing in opposite directions and both claiming to be directing you to the main entrance. For some reason is almost at ground height.
Even when considering the height of signage for wheelchair users, such a sign is way too low. Conformity between the design of signs?
We are already in trouble by the looks of it although the signs, as you will see below, suggest that there must be five to two different companies or parties responsible for the different signage within the grounds.
To make things worse, a sign which is broken in many places, is something which simply should never be missed if a proper plan for signage checks and repairs is managed (as explained in the post I recently did on wayfinding strategies).
I have to be completely honest and admit that I genuinely have no idea what the sign on the grass means and why it is positioned at the height it is.
It almost seems to be warning children to watch out for elderly people, but that is I am sure, not the intended message. I would love to know what it means.
Wales is interesting in terms of signage, given that many signs are in Welsh and that some people would like to see all signs primarily in Welsh.
In a city such as Cardiff though, a high percentage of those who use the hospital are not Welsh speakers and with an estimated 19% of Welsh speakers (Wales.com stats) nationwide, one might fairly assume that there is roughly more like 5 – 10% in the capital.
My main concern in mentioning the language is the wayfinding implications and the fact that it can make some signs quite confusing when driving through the hospital.
Common Hospital Signage Issues
The above sign is a great example of bad use of signage and, from a constructive point of view, a great example from which to learn. The sign is problematic for a few reasons:
1. The hospital signage above is incredibly difficult to read (as a sign) and is a sign that one would assume very few ever fully read.
The small print is information that really should be placed next on with the parking payment meter where one gets the pay and display ticket.
The small print information simply should NOT exist on this particular sign.
2. There is a deep conflict of interest on the sign with the ‘This is a SmokeFree Site’.
This is not related to the parking and these two messages (pieces of information) should not be combined.
The question of if the NHS should have started a major campaign called ‘smokefree’ and which uses the two words as one, perhaps does not send the right message as those words make little sense as one word.
3. The sign above is suddenly only in English (except for the term ‘smokefree’ which is not a real word) when the rest of the signs in the grounds are in English and Welsh.
The reason for this is because the hospital is allowing for signage on the grounds to be put up, which are designed by Vinci Park parking.
The big problem with the lack of conformity of signage is confusion with users and a defragmented system and problematic system, as exists in the hospital.
With such a lack of conformity in the grounds, one begins to see how finding wards inside the hospital can become really confusing.
Take a quick look at all of the photos on this page and can you see any standardization or any level of conformity between signs?
Let me apologize again for singling out the University Hospital of Wales, it is just that the grounds make for such a great study example – and I suspect that these hospitals are probably no better or worse than many in the UK.
From the signs directly above and then the signs directly below, an example of yet more different signage designs, use of colour schemes and a real lack of conformity.
I love the new signage below and perhaps these are a signal of a wayfinding system in the planning at the hospital. I’ll keep you posted.
And below yet another completely differently designed piece of signage. In terms of design, one might suggest that the two different languages should be in different colours on the signage below.
This would enable the reader to immediately zone in on their choice of Welsh or English.
This is, in fact, a problem with most signage in Wales, in that no colour differentiation is given on signs and this makes it very hard to read a lot of signs with any speed.
Using a different colour code according to language is a very simple and practical idea, but yet to be implemented.
As you can see above, one more colour scheme which once again takes us further away from any conformity and the languages are not divided by colour.
‘You are here’ maps can be invaluable and the representation in 3D quite jazzy and very easy on the eye.
The confusing thing is that (as you can see in the bottom left corner of the picture above) the buildings are only detailed in Welsh i.e. even though 95% of visitors do not speak Welsh (which would not be a problem if English was presented).
The Welsh words such as ‘Uned y Merched’ has no obvious English translation, although looking it up on Google Translate, I can tell you that it means ‘Women’s Unit’.
With some signs only in English, some signs only in Welsh and some signs in both languages, there is a severe lack of consistency.
Any of you who read the last post I did on wayfinding strategy basics will perhaps remember the focus given on documenting signage.
The idea is to ensure that you have a database or spreadsheet if pragmatic to do so) to have a definite list of all signage, placement, date last checked, condition, what the sign says and the sign type and to also include any other pertinent information.
This database should then be checked monthly i.e. someone should do the job of visiting each sign and checking the condition, to see for example if it needs to be repaired or cleaned.
Signage that is not maintained can become a hindrance.
The sign above is still usable but it does become harder to read as the sign deteriorates and could be replaced and updated to a standardised style.
The signage above is all in the grounds of the hospital. Inside the hospital, it is often very difficult indeed to find your way around, from my own experience and from talking with other users.
My own experience was of getting sent to five different places on one visit, with departments moving and staff not knowing where to send me.
Ideas and the Way Forward: Improving Hospital Signage & Wayfinding
It is far too easy to find fault with wayfinding systems and of course far more complex to create a good strategy.
It is therefore not my intention at all to criticise the navigational system in the grounds of the University Hospital of Wales.
This hospital just happens to be close by and gives us a great case study for showing a sample of the typical problems which can exist.
So, to end on a constructive note, I would like to mention some ways forward i.e. some solutions for this hospital and locations suffering from similar issues.
- A Database should be created to document all the hospital signage and signs and to include all of the data mentioned in the previous chapter.
- The signage needs to be brought under one umbrella and conformity built into any signs which are permitted to be put up in the hospital grounds.
- Old signage needs to be replaced and any new signage could be added to the same design.
- Vital parking information should be directly next to the pay meters. This will improve the overall hospital wayfinding system you have in place.
- Although we have not covered inside the hospital, the example of many Spanish hospitals should be copied and a small print out of the hospital map, with a red line showing exactly where to go, should be provided to visitors where they need one. Such as system has existed in Barcelona for more than 6 years and such a system also aids any non-Welsh or English speakers in very easily navigating to the wards they need.
Dr Paul Symonds has a PhD in Wayfinding from Cardiff Metropolitan University in the UK. Paul works with the signage industry, airports and other locations providing wayfinding audits, consultancy and training.
